Convivencia Creates Space for Joy

Edmonton Public Library's CEO Pilar Martinez shares how convivencia is embedded in annual goals and team practices and how convivencia connects to safety and joy.

Stanley Cup watch party at the Stanley A. Milner Library in Edmonton.

The most common question I get when talk about my work on convivencia (the capability to coexist across difference) is an understandable one:

This sounds great but what does this mean in practice?

The best answer by far can be found from Northern Alberta in Canada. Edmonton Public Library was the first public library in the world to start incorporating my research on convivencia into its organizational practices.

I am incredibly grateful to EPL’s leadership, especially CEO Pilar Martinez and Executive Director Corrina Chetley-Irwin, for this journey. Together with their team and Ruben Ocampo of Conic Group, we worked for six months on contextualizing this Latin American concept into the reality of Northern Canada. You can read more about our process here:

It’s been a bit over six months since we concluded our work in Edmonton. I reached out to Pilar to hear what they have learned in the last six months.

(The conversation below is edited for clarity and length.)

Tommi Laitio and Pilar Martinez at the launch of our collaboration in 2024. Photo: EPL

Tools for Convivencia

Tommi Laitio: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me. Let’s go back to the beginning. Why did you think convivencia was something to explore in Edmonton?

Pilar Martinez: I’ll always remember hearing you for the first time in Washington, D.C. at the ULC [Urban Libraries Council] Leadership Forum. I was struck by the way you encapsulated what happens in healthy public spaces—and that friction, healthy friction, is a good thing. It should be encouraged, not feared. It felt like the perfect word for what public libraries are trying to do.

When you came to EPL as Leader-in-Residence [in 2023], convivencia aligned so much with our values. Growth and better understanding come through healthy discomfort—not outright conflict, but discomfort. That moment was enlightening. Since then, we’ve been striving to embed convivencia in all we do.

Tommi Laitio (middle) in conversation with EPL’s Mo Amin (left) and Kimberly Jones (right).

Tommi: That’s exciting. What has changed?

Pilar: With your assistance, we created the convivencia framework, just like we have for youth or Indigenous services. The framework provides aspirational language that grounds staff in our work. We’ve made progress—we hear the term much more consistently. This year, all our managers have a shared annual goal focused on convivencia.

The Branch Services group along with our Leadership Practice Team created a conversation guide for staff meetings to help distinguish healthy friction from bad behavior. Managers reflect on it monthly, sharing staff observations and stories. They’ve also used visual exercises you encouraged, like drawing, to spark creativity. I think they're great way to stimulate creativity. And lots of discussions around mental models.

Tommi: Turning all of this to practical tools is quite amazing. Is your convivencia framework public?

Pilar: Yes, it’s on our website. We’re also building a webpage with all frameworks by the end of the year. We’re happy to share and learn from others.

EPL's convivencia framework was written as a collaboration of EPL staff, leadership and Tommi Laitio.

Tommi: How has your thinking on convivencia evolved as you turn it into practice?

Pilar: Some of the things we might adjust in the framework is that it currently focuses mostly on customer experience. We’re now thinking how do we embed this internally. There's no reference point in the the convivencia framework around that. So we have heard questions from some staff whether this applies to them as they are not working in the public space but for instance in supportive functions.

What is changing my thinking is that it is not just public spaces. It's also the interactions with each other.

One example is from a Library Assistant at a small branch - who is applying convivencia to book club discussions - who described it:

”Sometimes customers say “I don't like that book”. Book clubs are like convivencia soup - people getting together to discuss a book - some like it and some don’t' - they have a conversation and lean into their opinions and those of others.”

Another example comes from our Facilities team where the manager does a “convivencia moment” with his staff - to facilitate reflection and interactions. He posts them to the team chat usually once a week as he is providing updates at the start of the day. Here are two examples:

“Summer brings sunshine, long days, and well-deserved time away. When colleagues are on vacation, it’s our chance to step up, support one another, and keep things running smoothly, so they can truly rest their minds and bodies.Rest isn’t just a break from work, it’s a vital part of returning with energy, clarity, and creativity. Convivencia reminds us that caring for each other includes protecting that time for rest. While they recharge, we hold the fort; when it’s our turn, they’ll do the same.”

—

When someone new joins the workplace, they bring with them not just a new role but new perspectives, experiences, and energy. Ask yourself: What am I doing to make space for them, not just physically, but socially and emotionally?

Convivencia thrives when we extend kindness before it's asked for, offer guidance without judgment, and remain curious instead of closed off. Because creating a sense of belonging isn't the job of the new person, it's the responsibility of the community they’re joining.

Tommi: This is great that the thinking evolves. And this makes a lot of sense that the internal culture needs to support the culture you want to create for patrons.

Pilar: Having you and Ruben was pivotal. You brought outside perspectives and examples from other libraries and parks. That outside voice was key.

Tommi: Can you tell me more about your conversation guide?

Pilar: It’s used in monthly staff meetings. It provides sample questions, exercises, and prompts. It helps normalize healthy friction and has even been used in performance conversations.

Staff Activity and Conversation Guide for Managers

The material includes a slide deck, talking points and the following activities:

1. Introduction to convivencia

2. Discussion on the differences between conflict and friction

3. Drawing moments of convivencia

4. Discussion on the benefits of convivencia for EPL

5. Discussion on the benefits of convivencia for an EPL employee

6. Discussion on the mental models influencing one’s view of convivencia

7. Discussion on how convivencia has added positively to someone’s experience in EPL spaces

8. Discussion on each staff member’s opportunities to foster convivencia

9. Discussion on imagining a future of embracing convivencia

10. Revisiting drawings from the beginning

Convivencia Requires Joy

Tommi: We talked a bit about how convivencia is showing up in teams and organizational culture but would you have an example to share of a moment that encapsulates convivencia for customers?

Pilar: Yes. During the NHL playoffs one of the managers wrote this really lovely story. We decided to show Game One on our big digital wall. So there was a watch party and a steady stream of folks coming in, some heading with their Oilers jerseys towards the game and through the library. Some people were watching this stream of people intently. Some people were watching while doing other things. Some people didn't want to watch and they went to other parts of the library to to have more quiet space. But there were very few issues that evening.

The staff remarked how there was joy even and while there was friction. And the other thing that was happening at the same time was the National Indigenous History month so we had the huge teepee in front of the game being screened. And it was also Pride months so we had some queer art on display. So it was this juxtaposition of all these different initiatives that support the diversity of the communities we serve that made it a really magical moment.

And what struck the manager was the care for the city, a [convivencia] skill that you speak about. It was really being exemplified there. And also part of the play capabilities. Being able to laugh, being able to play, enjoy those recreational activities. It reminds reminds us that multiple things can be happening to meet the really diverse interests at at a single time.

Tommi: I love that you’re raising joy. Sometimes when I talk about friction, people slump, thinking it sounds heavy. But joy is instrumental to convivencia.

Pilar: Yes. And we’ve realized we must be intentional. Not just in public spaces, but internally too.

COVID reminded us how easily intentional practices can slip. Now staff email me proud stories of facilitating healthy friction. Keeping it alive in language and frameworks is key.

Tommi: I admire the intentionality of EPL, especially around safety. Your spaces are clean, you have washroom attendants to ensure washroom safety, you have a diverse team of security at the library. It comes across as improving customer experience rather than control, like many spaces. Balancing equity and safety with joy and play isn’t easy. Many libraries are sliding into pure safety language, which squeezes out joy.

Jasper Place Branch Library in Edmonton.

Pilar: Exactly. Public libraries often carry the burden of weakened social networks. The natural reaction is rigidity, but we have to also hold space for joy.

Tommi: Beauty and play are powerful safety strategies. Public art sparks convivencia—it provokes dialogue.

Pilar: Yes. We’ve been sharing the idea [of convivencia] with city partners and social agencies, and they’re always eager to learn more.

Tommi: I was in Bogotá recently and met some of the library folks there. They have still a lot of work to do on reducing violence —the first stage before convivencia of not being in conflict—but they also hosted joyful events like “Day of the Dogs,” letting people bring pets to the library. Serious safety work and joy must coexist.

Pilar: And well-kept spaces matter. People take more pride and care.

Virgilio Barco Library in Bogotá.

Convivencia Resonates with Libraries

Tommi: You were also chair of the Urban Libraries Council, an organization of nearly 200 library systems from major urban areas across North America. Did you take convivencia into that work?

Pilar: Yes. There’s been a lot of interest. I’ve shared the framework with many libraries across Canada and the U.S. It resonates widely.

Tommi: It’s been so rewarding to see how the concept is resonating among libraries. I have recently talked about the work with the staff and leadership of Salt Lake City Public Library and Amsterdam Public Library. I was recently told that Saint Paul Public Library had used the concept in their discussions around safety. We’re talking about it in our work on the strategic plan of Chicago Public Library. And we’re doing a session on convivencia in November to the entire staff of Ottawa Public Library.

My recent talk on convivencia at the Next Library festival in Aarhus was a moving experience for me as well, sort of connecting the dots between my personal experience and my interest in friction.

I’m excited that we get to share more about our joint work at the Metropolitan Libraries Conference in Toronto on 5-9 October.

Pilar: Yes, and our Executive Director of Employee Experience Corrina Chetley-Irwin will be there to bring in the employee experience perspective too.

Tommi: Thank you so much for sharing.